3 May 15 – Day 3 (Busan, Seoul)

Think it started raining in the middle of the night and the rain persisted in the morning. The plan for the day was to do the Taejongdae Loop Tour which consists of mainly outdoor sites. Given that it was raining, I planned to forgo doing that loop tour and instead either do indoor / underground shopping or take the morning train to Seoul. After the alarm went off, I told SWT about the proposed plans and she was for the latter since we would have a 50/50 chance of getting seats on the train.

I asked her if she was ok because she went to the toilet a few times during the night and was told that she was having diarrhea. She explained that either she had overeaten the day before or the hotteok was too oily for her. We checked-out of the motel about 8:15am. It was still drizzling heavily, so we put on our windbreakers and walked briskly over to Busan train station while pushing our luggage. Got to the station and quickly queued up to get train tickets. Luck was with us and we managed to get tickets for the 9:20am train to Seoul. Then SWT said she needs to get a bottle of Pocari from the vending machine. Bought that and we found a place to sit while I ate my steam cake as breakfast. She tried to eat a little bit of her steam cake but ended up going to the toilet after that. After she came back, I went to check-out that long queue fishcake shop. Perhaps it was early Monday morning; there was no queue though there were already some people making purchases. Could not resist trying the fishcakes, especially since this was my last chance, so popped into the shop and bought two fishcakes: a small, flat one that came with a piece of lotus root on each side and another bigger, flatter one with some vegetable bits inside. While queuing up to pay, I saw other people buying in bulk, at least one tray full. Wow!

Soon it was time to board the train; we loaded our luggage and took our seats. SWT slept all the way to Seoul while I just dozed off on and off. Ate the fishcake with the lotus roots and it was tasty with the crunchy lotus roots in every bite. We reached Seoul station and tried to find the subway station to take the subway to Myeongdong station. Seoul station was big and we had problem navigating so in the end, SWT approached two policemen for directions. Managed to find the subway station, boarded the train and alighted in Myeongdong station. Followed the directions given by K-Pop Residence Myeongdong II (K-pop II) in their email to me and we managed to find the place. There was a short flight of steps up to the lift landing and given that SWT was weak from the runs, I told her to carry my luggage up instead since mine was much lighter than hers.

Went up to the fourth floor where the reception counter is and we left our luggage there since it was still early for the 2pm check-in time. Went out to walk around Myeongdong area and I popped into a shop called “All Mask Diary” (I think) and found the Berrisom My Lip Tint Pack Lip Tattoo which I read about in the newspaper couple of weeks ago. Bought it and felt happy because it was an item in my shopping list. We walked around some more while I ate the last of my fishcake. Sales staffs from the various beauty shops were constantly trying to get us into the shops using with free masks and samples. We then moved on to explore Lotte Young Plaza via the underpass before going to Lotte Avenuel, which was a shopping mall selling international brands. Finally we ended up at the Lotte Departmental Store and we went right up to the topmost floor to walk around. The top three floors were duty-free section and they were so packed with foreigners. Left the duty-free section quickly and went down to the supermarket. Asked SWT what food she can eat and she said can try yogurt but after that got to stay indoor for two hours in case she needs the toilet. Initially she planned to stock up on yogurt but I cautioned her that we may not have a mini fridge in the room. So she bought one cup of yogurt while I bought a bottle of my favourite banana milk, a piece of fried spicy squid fishcake and two pieces of rice cakes. Yes, I am a fan of rice cakes. 

Got back to K-pop II, did the check-in, the receptionist showed us the area where light breakfast is available from 7am to 10am and told us that the check-out time is 11am. She also gave us a slip of paper each stating the passwords for the automated lock for level four and five. We were given a room on the fifth floor and just outside our room is the area for laundry. There is also a microwave oven and a mini fridge. The room seems to be smaller than the one we had back in Busan. The bed is a super-twin size bed with a pull out bed at the bottom. We lined up our luggage along the walkable area so that we can open them up to access our things. After we were done eating our so-called late lunch, we had to close our luggage, pushed them aside so that SWT could pull out her bed. She chose to take the lower bunk in case she needs to go to the toilet often at night. So while she slept, I watched tv and whatsapping little big sis. Little big sis told me that the plastic cover for her Iphone 6+ cracked and she asked me to keep a lookout for mobile phone cover for her. Initially she wanted to get something similar to her previous one, a leather flip-cover kind. Then she changed her mind and said those were kind of boring and told me to just get the back cover but with slots for at least one card.

I woke SWT up at 6:45pm so that we could return to Lotte supermarket to stock up some drinks and food. While walking over to Lotte supermarket, we passed by a building where the second floor was called “Teteru Museum”. It was a café with a small teddy bear museum and the entrance fee was W6,000 that comes with a free drink. We didn't in and instead went up to the third level where the giftshop was. Came back down and popped into another shop that sells mobile phone covers and found some for Iphone 6+. Surprisingly, there are really some back cases that offer slots for cards. Felt happy that I managed to find what little big sis wanted but I didn't get it immediately because I thought maybe I can find them at cheaper prices over at Hongdae area or in Dongdaemun Market.

SWT bought a pack of four cups of yogurt and a big bottle of Pocari while I bought a big bottle of orange juice after having failed to find my favourite banana milk in tetra pack. SWT didn’t need dinner but I do so walked back to Myeongdong area with our purchases to hunt for my dinner. Walked along so many streets, passed by so many food stalls yet nothing really interest me, partly because those food required me to eat on the spot. In the end, I told SWT to return to K-pop II first since we were at the doorstep, while I continued to walk around. After more walking, I bought a pack of tteokbokki and returned to the room to eat. The food was tasty and spicy but unfortunately, it was plain without any fishcakes or vegetables. Rested a bit before taking shower, firmed up the plan for the next day with SWT before hitting the bed close to 11pm.

Thoughts: The stay in Busan was too short. Even though it is not tourist-friendly, I believe I can still get around with a map or two in hand. Perhaps next time I should fly direct to Busan and just spend the days there at leisure. Lotte supermarket was crowded as usual but somehow felt different this time compared to my last visit, yet I could not pin-point what exactly. The sales staffs outside those beauty shops in Myeongdong were getting aggressive; I was grabbed by the arm a few times to try to get me into their shops. Myeongdong is not the one I used to know.

2 May 15 – Day 2 (Haeundae Loop Tour, Haedong Yonggung Temple)

Got up, washed up and packed before eating half of the onion cheese bread bought yesterday as breakfast. SWT and I agreed to queue for the bus tour at 9am so after eating, we lazed around before heading out at 8:45am. When we got to the bus stop, there were already two long queues, one for the Haeundae Loop Tour and the other for the Taejongdae Loop Tour. The tour buses with open top were already there, just waiting for boarding. The weather was really sunny and hot. The queue started to move but unfortunately, we didn’t get to board the first bus which moved off at 9:45am. The second bus was a single deck and moved off after 10am. The bus crossed the Busan Harbour Bridge before reaching the first stop, UN Memorial Park. We didn’t alight and was aiming for the next stop, Busan Museum. After the first stop, the bus did a turn and stop at another bus stop which reflected as UN Memorial Park.

Continued the ride and then the bus system announced that the stop was Gwangalli Beach. SWT and I were shocked that we had missed the Busan Museum stop. Oh well… too late to cry over spilled milk so we made sure that we alight at the correct stop for the Nurimaru APEC House. Fortunately for us, there were a number of people alighting at that stop and heading to the same place. So we alighted and followed the group of people. Along the way to the Nurimaru APEC House, we saw some pretty flowers and stopped to take photos. Finally we got to the Nurimaru APEC House and walked around to see the exhibits. Recalled reading an article talking about this place recently and the author talked about looking for the seat that our PM Lee sat back during the meeting in 2005. So I also went to look for that seat and somehow felt very proud when I found it. Explore the area outside the Nurimaru APEC House and took a selfie with SWT using the mono-stick that she brought along.

Went up to a pavilion to rest and eat the balance of our bread from breakfast as lunch. I finished my food and went back down to look at the other areas while waiting for SWT to join me. Saw a signboard indicating the different places that one can see from the viewpoint and I saw Haeundae Beach towards the left. The beach seemed to be accessible via a boardwalk from the Nurimaru APEC House area. When SWT joined me later, told her about it and we decided to walk towards the beach instead taking the city bus which would only arrive about an hour later around 1+pm. The walk along the coastal boardwalk was enjoyable because of the nice view. And somewhere between the boardwalk, we passed by a statue of a mermaid so we stopped briefly to take photos. Finally we reached the beach and we took off our shoes to walk on the fine sand. We even went further down to the shoreline to wet our feet. The water was cold but it was fun. I haven’t been to a beach for a very, very long time and it was great! We walked half the length of the beach and then went off to find the bus stop to take the city bus to the defunct Haeundae (Train) Station.

Again we had problem locating the bus stop and had to go around asking people. After hitting a few walls, finally an uncle gave us some directions in Korean and we tried to follow. Turned out that the bus stop was actually towards the other end of the beach, had we continued the whole length of the beach, we would have been able to find it. Anyway, got to the bus stop and there were already many people waiting. So joined the queue and waited for close to an hour before finally boarded the bus. By the time we got to the defunct Haeundae (Train) Station, it was already 2:35pm. We took snapshots of the station and realized that there was a subway station of the same name there. Proceeded to wait for public bus 181 at the bus stop in front of the station to go to the famous Haedong Yonggung Temple as per what we read from one of the TA posts. When the bus came, SWT checked with the bus driver and was told that we should be taking the bus from the opposite direction instead. Quickly crossed the road and there was a bus arriving. By the time, we ran towards the bus, it was already fully packed and some people were not able to get in. So we all waited at the bus stop for the next bus.

Soon another bus came along, we quickly boarded the bus and it was fully packed very quickly. We had no seats and the bus was stuffy. The bus journey took about 45 minutes, longer than the stated 30 minutes, due to slightly heavy traffic. Many people alighted with us at the same stop and we followed the crowd towards the temple. There were stalls selling food and stuff in the area before the temple. By the time we reached the temple, it was already 3:40pm. Walked around to take photos and saw some steps leading to an underground opening and there were people queuing to go down, so we joined the queue and found out that it was a place where water from a natural spring flows through. Plastic ladles were provided for people to scoop the water to drink. Took a few quick snaps of the interior before drinking some water myself, doing what the locals do.

Emerged from the ground, round the corner, there was another place where people queued up to pour water over a small Buddha statue. Continued our walk around the temple and then we got to the area near the sea where we took another selfie. Walked back out and got back to the area where the food and stuff were and we approached a stall that sells hotteok and gukhwappang (chrysanthemum-shaped mini red bean cake). I told SWT to choose one snack to share but she wanted to try both. So we bought one hotteok and a bag of 10 gukhwappang to share. While waiting for the food, took photos of other food at the stall, there were the local specialty of boiled silkworm larvae and boiled water snails.

We ate while browsing the other stalls and I had the hotteok first while SWT ate her five gukhwappang. After that, we swapped to eat the balance. Then I saw a food stall selling hotteok on one side and odeng on the other. I wanted to try the odeng so asked the aunty the price and was told W2,000 per stick. There were two types of fishcakes in the cart, the flat-folded one and the round-long one. I took the former and SWT took the latter where we ate half each and then swapped. Sauces with cut chilies were provided and there were small brushes provided in the containers for patrons to brush the sauce over their odeng before eating. The odeng gungmul (the fishcakes broth) was free flow and it was really tasty with all the flavours from the odeng and the generous amount of leek used. After we were done, it was close to 6pm, SWT made payment and we went off to take bus 181 back to the defunct Haeundae (Train) Station.

Again, there was already a very long queue for the one and only bus service at the bus stop. We waited for a very long time before the bus came along but it did not stop because it was fully packed. A female passenger popped her head out of a window and shouted something in Korean to the people at the bus stop. We asked the Korean guy queuing in front of us what was said and was told that the lady said many people were waiting for the bus at the bus stop before this. So SWT and I walked to the said bus stop. As we were reaching that bus stop, we saw another one further up. SWT suggested that we go to the one further up. Turned out the bus stop further up was also for bus service 181 so we waited there with the two Korean guys that were in front of us previously. The bus came around 7pm and we were able to board before it became fully packed. Because we were packed like sardines, plus we were both short, we had to constantly peep through whatever gaps there were to see if we can spot the defunct Haeundae (Train) Station. Then SWT took an opportunity to ask the driver when to alight for the defunct Haeundae (Train) Station but the driver did not answer her. Two Korean teenagers boarded the bus and SWT asked them instead. Fortunately, one of them could speak simple English and told us that our stop was about two stops away.

Alighted at the correct bus stop and hurried to the subway station to take the subway back to Busan station. While we were waiting on the platform, we saw an uncle pushed a bicycle with a little dog inside the bike basket onto the platform. It was then we saw a small sign depicting a picture of a bicycle on the wall. I was so impressed that I took a photo of the uncle with his bicycle. Back home, we can only bring folded foldable bikes confine to a certain measurements onto the train at stipulated time on weekdays. It was close to 9pm when we finally got back to Busan station and still there was a very, very long queue outside that fishcake shop. We went to the café next to Paris Baguette to get food as breakfast for the next day. Could not resist the rice cakes available and bought one, on top of the sweet potato steam cake that I had already taken. Got back to the motel, showered before settling down to eat my rice cake while recording the amount spent during the day, as well as firmed up the plan for the next day. According to the weather forecast, it would rain the next day. Oh dear…

Thoughts: Did not think that the queue for the Haeundae Loop Tour would be that long and most of the people were actually local tourists. The Haeundae Loop Tour has quite a few sights worth seeing and had we not gone to the Haedong Yonggung Temple, we would probably be quite comfortable covering the whole loop for the entire day. Now that we know the travelling time to get to the Haedong Yonggung Temple, I think it would have been best if it was done as either half-day or full-day trip. Perhaps it was due to the long weekend, there seemed to be a lot of local tourists than foreigners in Busan. The temple was super crowded. I would have enjoyed even more if it was not so crowded and if I had more time there to explore at my own pace. One thing turned out well today, I got to eat street food! And the best thing was that I finally got the chance to eat odeng beside a food stall like the locals!

1 May 15 – Day 1 (Busan)

Touched down at 6:40am KGT, guessed both SWT and I were still drowsy from our flight, we joined the shortest queue in front of the immigration counter even though it was stated that the counter was for Korean passport holders. I had my doubt while queuing yet I could see no other counters opened for foreign passport holders. When it was SWT’s turn, the immigration officer directed her to another counter which was on the other side of the area, blocked from our view. By the time we got to the correct counter, there was a very long queue. 

Finally cleared the immigration and collected our luggage by 7:30am. We followed the directional sign to get to the KTX counter, which was at the basement at one end of the airport, to get our 3-day Saver KR Pass. Read from TripAdvisor (TA) that one needs to show the passport, the reservation printout as well as the credit card used during reservation in order to get the pass. However, I was only asked to show the passport and the printout. Asked the lady at the counter for a timetable of the train and she said that this counter in Incheon International Airport does not have timetable of train. She then asked where we were heading to and we told her Busan. She then informed us that the next train for Busan departs at 9:07am. She handed me the KR pass and told us that it was a standing ticket. SWT and I were confused but we just accepted the piece of information without clarifying and moved off to the nearby 7-11 to get the T-money that cost W3,000 each. Remembering that it used to cost W2,500, I thought perhaps price had increased due to inflation. We then proceeded to one of the kiosks near the KTX counter to top up the cards. The machine was touch-screen and easy to use since there was an English option.

Since it was still early, we sat down to wait. SWT read the material that came with the T-money and I found out that the usual T-money still cost W2,500. The ones we paid for came with the Citypass+ option hence cost more. We were not given the normal T-money option while making our purchases. Oh well… Perhaps the convenient stores in the airport only sell T-money that come with Citypass+. Not convinced that we only need the KR pass to board the train, we checked with the lady at the KTX counter again asking if we needed any tickets for the train. She repeated that the KR pass was a standing ticket. We still did not understand but we had no other choices. We went through the gate about 8:40am and went down the track to look for Train 125. As we were not allocated any seats, we just went up car number 10, loaded our luggage at the luggage area and were considering if we should take the seat on both side of the doors. In the end, we decided to sit in the last two seats in the car number 9.

The train departed at 9:07am sharp and made stops at Geomam and Haengsin. When the train came to the Seoul station, many passengers came onboard. The father of a family tried to communicate to us that they had the right to our seats and tried to show us the e-ticket on his phone. It was pretty clear that we had to give up the seats because we were supposedly to be holding on to a “standing ticket”. So we stood up and moved to the section where our luggage was. There were already many people standing in that section, so we just took whatever space there was. A nun was facing us and she tried to strike a conversation but we had communication problem because she did not speak English and we did not understand Korean. She tried to ask a young lady beside her to translate and it turned out that she was trying to say that it would be another 2+ hours from Seoul station to Busan. The young lady asked us if we know that there was no more tickets available, we replied that we only knew about it when we tried to change for tickets. She said the same thing happened to her and we continued the rest of the journey in silence.

The train made stops at Gwangmyeong, Cheonan-Asan, Osong, Daejeon, Gimcheon(gumi), Dongdaegu and Singyeongju. During one of the stops, a young lady boarded the train onto our section. She then took out a piece of paper, placed it on the floor and sat on it. She then proceeded to take out her makeup stuff and did her makeup on the moving train. After she was done, she went on to do a beaded mobile phone charm for her mobile phone. Talking about dolling up, this young lady really takes the cake. There were many movements up and down the section because other passengers from car number 9 had to pass us by to get to the toilet. Train staff also walked up and down to check on the passengers and there were pushcarts selling drinks and snacks passing through. When a train staff saw that young lady sitting on the floor, he said some things in Korean to the rest of the people in the section. No idea what he was talking about but I was guessing that he was trying to embarrass the young lady; however, it had no effect on her as she continued to sit on the floor for the rest of her journey.

The train journey was leg-breaking because I was holding on to my heavy backpack and supporting my own weight on my two feet. Initially we were still joking about the seats at the side of the two doors; we ended up regretting not taking them in the first place. Gradually, the section got less crowded. At the second last stop, Ulsan, the seats beside the doors were empty so SWT and I quickly took the two seats. Finally, we reached Busan station around 12:46pm and tried to follow the direction given by the Pusan Inn Motel website to get to the motel but we could not find the stated exit. There was a tourist information booth in the train station so we went in to ask. Turned out that instead of the exit 10 stated, we should look for exit 9 instead. We managed to find the motel, which was not far from the station, left the luggage there and went back to the train station to try to get the train tickets for 3 May back to Seoul. Unfortunately, we were told that there are no more seats for trains starting from 5+pm onwards and those with seats are from 9+am onwards. Now I understand what “standing ticket” means. It meant that even though KR pass is cheaper than single-trip ticket, it does not guarantee you a seat. If the seats of a particular train are all fully booked, the KR pass will still allow you to board the train but you will have to stand for the entire journey, hence “standing ticket”.

Went to look for the subway station but could not find it so went to the tourist information booth again to ask. We were told that the subway station is actually located outside the train station so we went outside to look for it. We took some quick photos outside the train station before the hunt began. While looking for the subway station, we found the place where we need to queue for the bus tour tomorrow. When we failed to see any signs indicating a subway station, we resorted to ask a local aunty who gave us directions in Korean. Continue the hunt and finally found a small sign indicating the subway station. Took the subway to the Jagalchi station and took the exit indicated in one of the TA posts to look for the Jagalchi Market. Walked around the area, snapped some photos and marveled at the different kinds of big and fresh seafood available in the market, some of which we have never seen before, for instance we saw a lot of this particular seafood that look like yellow balls with red tips. Went up to the second floor of the actual Jagalchi Market, walked around to compare prices of the different stalls before deciding to settle lunch at one of the stalls which the aunty was able to communicate in Mandarin and also provide customization to the set menu to cater to our requirements.

The set menu which cost W60,000, included a big plate of fish sashimi, two abalone sashimi, two fresh prawns, two fresh oysters, a few pieces of boiled octopus, a few pieces of that yellow ball with red tip (which we later found out was called sea squirt), a plate of live octopus bits, a plate of squid pancake, one fried mackerel fish, three side dishes and a big pot of spicy seafood broth. SWT is a smaller eater than me and we could not tell the size of the portion from the picture so we insisted that we can only take the smallest set available. In this stall, we had the option of having some cooked food instead of having all seafood in sashimi style, which was offered in the earlier stall at W40,000. The aunty told us that we can have the set for W50,000 since we didn’t want the plate of live octopus bits and we requested to have one of the abalones to be grilled.

Sat down and waited for all our food to arrive so that we can take a photo with the food before digging in. It was close to 3pm when we ate lunch, the food was fresh and I like the chewy texture of the fish sashimi. Half way through eating, the aunty distributed plates of tempura to every table and said they are on the house as a kind of promotion gimmick. Nice touch. SWT and I managed to finish all the raw seafood and were left with half a fried fish, small portion of pancake and 3/4 pot of seafood broth. It was a very good meal and we left the place about 3:50pm, feeling very satisfied. We walked around the nearby areas such as the BIFF Square and Gukje Market Food Street. These two places were super crowded so much so that both SWT and I were practically being pushed along the flow. There were food stalls selling boiled fishcakes, tteokbokki, fried snacks, etc in the middle of the walkway and many people just stood round the stalls to eat.

We got out of the crowded area and headed towards the Busan Lotte Department Store at Gwangbok. We were pretty tired and once we were inside, I remembered reading in one of the TA posts that the 4-storey fountain show is a must-see in the departmental store. So found a good spot and sat ourselves down to wait for the show to start at 6pm. The show lasted for about 15 minutes and it was really good. After the fountain show, we walked around the food area but did not get any food because we were still full from our late seafood lunch. Took the subway back to Busan station and explored the area near our motel. We discovered that there is a Chinatown just across Busan station and inside is a big compound housing kindergarten to secondary schools with very nice mural on the compound wall. Perhaps it was in the evening, the Chinatown was pretty quiet.

Crossed back to the Busan train station and saw the installation that we passed by earlier in the afternoon in front of the station lighted up. We took some photos of it before entering the train station to go to Paris Baguette to get bread as next day’s breakfast. Passed by this shop with very long queue and I thought maybe it is a very good bakery shop but SWT later pointed out the shop sign indicating that it is actually a shop selling all kinds of fishcakes. Recalled seeing a fishcake museum sometime during the day and thought to myself, people in Busan are really big on fishcakes. There were some stalls outside on the second floor of the station selling cooked food such as boiled fishcakes and tteokbokki but we were too full to eat any. Passed by the lighted installation again and a fountain show was going on, so we stood around to watch. Got back to Pusan Inn Motel, settled the payment and lugged our luggage to our room on the second floor.

It was a small, simple room with a double bed and a dressing table in front of it. On the table was a flat screen tv and stuff such as toiletries, hair dryer, etc and below it was a mini fridge. Settled down, took shower before packing and firming up the plan for the next day. Finally I went to sleep close to 11pm.

Thoughts: This is my first time taking KTX and so was not sure how it actually works. Now I finally figured out the pros and cons of KR pass versus single-trip ticket. This is my first time to Busan and I find that it is not as tourist-friendly as Seoul because most of the directional signs were in Korean, most people do not understand nor speak English. Despite that, the people are very friendly and try their best to help us. Compared to Seoul, seems like Busan has more local street food and I was really tempted to eat little bit of each. Unfortunately, both SWT and I are small eaters and could not fit in anymore after our heavy late lunch. The variety of seafood was really wide and really fresh, the seafood meal was every penny well spent.

26 Apr 15 (Sun) - Chrysanthemum Sorbet with Red Date Bits

Had a couple of chat sessions with a friend and it prompted me to think very hard about my dream of owning a small dessert stall or shop. My initial thought was I'm contented to do any kind of desserts , be it baked or non-baked, Western or Asian, as long as they are desserts. The conversations helped to narrow down to more feasible options, ice cream or similar.

Well... I have done Philadelphia-style ice cream without any machine a few times, making conventional flavours such as chocolate chips and strawberry as well as unconventional ones such as red dragon fruit and pumpkin walnut. The results were not too bad. I have been brain-storming in interesting flavours for sometime but did not have the time to try. After the last session, I started researching on sorbet and sherbet. Came across this recipe by Honest Fare on chamomile sorbet and decided to modify it to try.

Instead of using chamomile, I substituted it with chrysanthemum and added some red dates. Instead of using cane sugar, I used caramel sugar and added white sugar. The recipe uses "cup" measurements but I converted it to metric measurements on my own using my measuring cup. Did it without any machine and hand-churn it every two hours for a few times before freezing it overnight.

Chrysanthemum buds

Caramel Sugar

Ingredients:
110g caramel sugar
110g white sugar
1 litre water
15g chrysanthemum buds
2 tbsp honey
4 red dates

Method:
1.  Bring water to boil in a large pot
2.  Remove from heat, add sugar, chrysanthemum buds, red dates and honey
3.  Stir to dissolve all sugar and for buds to open up
4.  Let the mixture stand in the pot till room temperature
5.  Once cool, strain the mixture and set the red dates aside
6.  Pour the liquid into a container of your choice and put into freezer
7.  Dice the red dates into small pieces and keep in the fridge
6.  Remove the liquid from the freezer after 2 hours to churn with a fork
7.  Repeat step (6) for another 3-4 times
8.  Add in the diced red dates, churn one last time before freezing the mixture overnight

---------------- Edited on 27 Apr 2015 ----------------

Brought a tub to office for my colleagues to try and two of them came back with comments. My honest food critic, CC, told me that the texture was more of shaved ice than sorbet, was a bit too sweet but the chrysanthemum flavour was strong enough, plus the red date bits was a nice touch. The other colleague, NYP, commented that it was sweet and refreshing. When I probed further, she said it was a bit too sweet.

I started to review what I have done wrong and concluded that I should have either stick to cane sugar or reduce the amount of sugar if I intend to use caramel sugar and add white sugar. As for the icy part, I could not figure out why until I looked at my one and only pomegranate sorbet recipe after I got home. Instead of churning it every two hours, I should have churned it every 45 minutes so as to break down the ice crystals before they get too big. Oh well, at least now I know where the mistakes are and make sure I won't repeat them again.

Did a bit of researching and found an article on "What's the Difference Between Sorbet and Sherbet?". In the article, it says that "Granita starts with the same base as sorbet, but instead of churning it in an ice cream maker, the base is just poured into a pan and placed in the freezer. The surface is scraped multiple times as it freezes, creating icy flakes that are coarse and more crystalline in texture than sorbet." Hrm... maybe I should rename my blog post title from sorbet to granita instead. Hehe...

15 Mar 15 (Sun) - Stir-fried Asparagus, Bamboo Shoots and Sliced Beef

Was reading the newspaper few days ago when I saw a picture of this Shanghai dish called Stir-fried Asparagus, Bamboo Shoots and Bacon. It was a promotion by the Paradise Dynasty under the Paradise Group. The dish looked good and so decided to try it out this weekend. I didn't have any recipe and so searched the Internet for one or something similar.

Managed to find something similar and did some modifications since I didn't want to buy bacon and didn't want to make too big a portion.

Can't comment on whether the taste is same or similar because I have never tried the original dish from Paradise Dynasty, I can only say that the dish is still edible. Lol.

Look-wise, perhaps I should not use light soya sauce or use less of it so that the bamboo shoots will still retain its bright color. Also maybe I should have used bacon instead of beef because beef could have darken the color of the dish as well.

Anyway, shall try again sometime soon and hopefully get something closer to the original dish.

A Review: Cake Spade

Googled about bakery shops near Tanjong Pagar area and "Cake Spade" popped out as one of the results. Checked the website out and browsed through the list of cakes, brownies, crumbles and tarts. The cakes looked yummy, plus the price seemed reasonable so shortlisted some cakes to buy during lunchtime. The shop is situated just below the Orchid Hotel. Small shop space with a few small tables for people who want to dine in.

Bought a slice of Hummingbird Cake, a slice of Chocolate Blackout Cake, a slice of Peach Tofu Cheesecake and a slice of Lemon Meringue Cake to share with my colleagues and all have different preferences.

Hummingbird Cake (Below) and Peach Tofu Cheesecake (Top)

Chocolate Blackout Cake (Below) and Lemon Meringue Cake (Top)

CC voted for the Hummingbird cake while TYY seemed to prefer the Peach Tofu Cheesecake. As for me, I find the Hummingbird cake very flavourful and it is one of the cakes that I had planned to try out one day. The Peach Tofu Cheesecake and the Lemon Meringue Cake were very soft and light. As for the Chocolate Blackout Cake, I didn't find it special, perhaps because chocolate cakes are quite common.

Most of the cakes are priced at $5.90 per slice except the Lemon Meringue Cake which cost $6.20 per slice. Given the size of the slice, I find the price rather affordable. Maybe next time I will try their brownies and tarts.

Name: Cake Spade

Address: 1 Tras Link, #01-06, Orchid Hotel Singapore, Singapore 078867

Opening Hours: 12:00-21:00 (Mon-Thu) and 12:00-22:30 (Fri-Sat)

Tel: 6444 3868

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cakespadesg

Wesbite: http://www.cakespade.com/index.html

8 Mar 15 (Sun) - Strawberry Ice Cream

Had some dried rose buds sitting in the pantry and wanted to try to make use of them. So surfed the Internet and found a strawberry ice cream recipe that uses Greek yogurt, rosewater and rose petals. Tried the recipe yesterday without adding rose petals but was called out for an outing after I had mixed the ingredients. Got back in the late evening to try and churn as much as possible but the mixture was too icy.

Left the mixture in the freezer overnight and checked it again today. The texture was still towards the icy side. Taste-wise... It tasted more like strawberry frozen yogurt than ice cream and I couldn't taste or smell any hint of rose. Perhaps I should have used the real rosewater essence instead of DIY the rosewater myself or maybe I didn't make the rosewater concentrated enough. Anyway, it still tasted good and just in time to celebrate International Women's Day.

17 Jan 15 (Sat) - Rum & Raisin Ice Cream

Lately, one of my friends pointed out that it is very peculiar that for someone like me who doesn't like to drink wine or liquor, would enjoy food with wine and liquor. Come to think of it, rum & raisin ice cream has always been my favourite, then I also like tiramisu and liquor chocolates. And since I had some leftover rum essence so I decided to attempt to make the rum & raisin ice cream at home. Did a bit of researching but couldn't settle on a recipe, therefore, I decided to just come up with my own.

Soaked a bunch of golden raisins with about 20ml rum essence and about one teaspoon of vanilla extract for two days beforehand. Then I did the usual of whisking the whipping cream while incorporating about 90g of fine sugar in three batches. But what I did differently this time was that I also heated up a tablespoon of honey to mix into the whipped cream before putting the mixture into the freezer.

After about two hours, the mixture wasn't firm at all so I quickly did a search on the Internet to find a solution. I read about "The Science of Ice Cream" by Ice Cream Nation and figured out that perhaps I should add in some milk. So I actually added about 100-200ml of Meiji milk to the mixture, whisked till well combined before putting it back into the freezer for another two hours.

Took the mixture out to check and it seemed to have firmed up much better. Folded the pre-soaked raisins into the mixture, added some of the soaking liquid of rum essence and vanilla extract into the mixture and chucked it back into the freezer for another two hours. Took it out to check after two hours, instead of becoming more solidify, it became soft again.

Quickly consulted Mr Google and found out that alcohol lowers the freezing point of ice cream. Recalled what I read earlier, I came up with the idea of adding in more milk of about 100ml. My theory was that milk contains moisture and by adding into the mixture, the mixture would be able to form more ice crystals and hence be able to solidify. Chucked the mixture into the freezer after I was done mixing and this time round, I left it inside for another three hours.

Took it out again to check and I was so glad that my theory was correct. The mixture became more solid though not as solid as I hope it would be like the commercial ice cream. Still it was firmer than before and not sure if it was due to the addition of honey, the texture was slightly gooey and creamy. Going to leave it in the freezer for a couple more nights, hopefully it will firm up more before bringing some to the office.

---------------- Edited on 21 January 2015 ----------------

It was a bad time to bring ice cream to office because two of my usual taste testers were down with cough so they were not allowed to eat. Fortunately, CC was around to give me comments and her first comment was "Yum! It's your best ice cream yet. Everything just right." Then she elaborated that the taste was just nice, however, the ice cream was slightly on the soft side. Hahaha... My first DIY rum & raisin ice cream for the first cooking in the year 2015 didn't turn out too bad afterall. 

16 Nov 14 – Day 10 (Yarra Valley)

Today got up about the same time as yesterday because today was a day trip to Yarra Valley. It rained during the night hence it was chilly in the morning. CT woke up about 7am to prepare breakfast while SY made coffee. When CT was preparing to heat up the pita bread, she saw some mould forming on the bread. So without hesitation, she threw the pita bread away and took out some eggs from the fridge to make omelette. She was pretty skilful in making omelette. While she was cooking, SY brought some biscuits out and we munched biscuits while waiting. Soon the omelette was done and we ate it quickly while it was still hot. I helped to clear the table after we were done and waited for the couple to get dressed.

We left the house about 8:30am and the first stop was to the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery. I was really excited when we reached the place because it was similar to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory in Perth. Took a photo of the open compound before heading into the retail shop. There were all sorts of chocolates and chocolate products available such as the chocolate pastilles, chocolate bars of different cocoa content, hand-made chocolate truffles and even chocolate tea. Beside the retail shop was a café and it was really crowded. Went to take a basket and started to browse the chocolate products on my own. I ended up with almost one basket full of chocolate and it was after much control on my part. Both CT and SY were very impressed with the amount of chocolate that I had bought.

We left close to 10am to Yarra Valley Farmers' Market. It was not very big but enough stalls to keep me occupied. It was drizzling so the couple brought along umbrellas, I simply pulled my hood over and walked on. We passed by a few stalls before coming to the big farm house where there were more stalls inside. Just outside the big farm house was a stall selling sausages. This was the stall that the couple mentioned to me while in the car. The banner said buffalo sausages and I just took it as the sausages were very big and hence called buffalo sausages. Continued into the farm house to browse the stalls and then CT came along to ask if I would like to eat sausages. I said ok and followed her out to that stall. The sausage looked really big and smelled really nice. There were three types of chutneys to choose from and I asked for the one with rosemary. SY paid for all the buffalo sausage sizzles (hotdog bun with sausage and dressing) and then CT said she and SY would go have a look at the surroundings and left me at the farm house to browse the stalls.

There were a lot of stalls selling things like homemade pastries, fruits, jams, Christmas pudding of different sizes, honey and so on. There were also some chairs on the side of the farm house for people to sit and so I sat down to finish up the buffalo sausage sizzle before walking around. The buffalo sausage sizzle was really yummy and filling. The pastries sold by the stalls were so tempting but I could not stuff in anymore food. Jams looked good too but I had to stop myself because I could not fit in anymore big items into my luggage. Saw a stall selling body lotion made from honey and got interested. The lotion smelled really nice, then the stall owner let me tried the lip balm and it really smooth on the lips. So I bought a bottle of the body lotion and a lip balm from her. Moved on to the next stall selling Christmas pudding and bought a small one. Half way through, CT and SY came back to look for me. Showed CT my loot and she followed me to check out the stall that sells the honey lip balm and body lotion. She was contemplating about getting the body lotion but in the end she didn’t. Then a few stalls away was one that sell pastries, CT placed her order and waited for the stall owner to prepare her food. The pastries were really freshly made on the spot. While waiting, we chatted and it was then I found out that the buffalo sausage sizzle was actually buffalo meat because SY was commenting that I was really lucky to be able to try buffalo meat. It turned out that the stall doesn’t always have buffalo sausages. Other times were just normal sausages.

Next stop was to the Warratina Lavender Farm. The lavender wasn’t in full glory yet but still there were some people busy taking selfies with the plant even though it was drizzling. We browsed the retail shop where I bought a bottle of lavender essential oil, a small bottle of lavender honey and a small pack of dried lavender angustifolia egerton blue for culinary use. Then we went out to the farm after it had stopped drizzling and CT commented that we didn’t have a photo together. And I was just wondering how I could ask for a group photo before I fly back home and CT presented the opportunity. So I quickly went to ask a young lady nearby to help us take a photo. I was really glad that this young lady has a flare for photo taking. The photo turned out very well.

The final stop for the day was to Rayner's Orchard. Initially I thought it would be just browsing the retail shop but turned out that CT and SY were checking with the staff about touring the orchard. So happened that there was a tour scheduled for another tour group and that we could just tag along for a price. It seems that the pricing for peach picking and nectarine picking differs and the couple asked for the special price that would include the picking of both peach and nectarine. We got onto the tractor and started the tour, it started to rain too. There were three jack russells on the farm and they were running along the tractor. There were not many fruits on the trees and bushes yet. When we got to the peach area, we were told that we could pick and eat as many as we want. However, the season of peach was not at its peak and hence the peach were not very ripe for picking. The same when we got to the nectarine area and most were not sweet. The tour ended back at the retail shop where I browsed the shop and bought some fruit leathers which I thought would make interesting gifts as well as a small bottle of chutney. There was a section where jams and chutneys were selling at very low prices and yet the expiry dates were still a long way to go. CT explained that those were the not-so-nice products where maybe the colours of the jams were off, the preserved fruits were not as nice and so on.

As it was near lunch time, CT asked if I would like to eat lunch there so looked through the menu and placed my order of salad sandwich with ham and cappuccino, thinking that perhaps the couple would also order theirs to eat there. Turned out that I was the only one eating and they were just having coffee. CT bought a lot of jams and chutney partly for herself and partly for her friend who also like the products from Rayner’s Orchard. Quickly finished my lunch and we made our way back. We targeted to get back to the couple’s place by 3pm and so since we still had a bit of spare time, CT suggested doing antiquing because there seemed to be a lot of places that offer antiquing experiences in Yarra Valley. So we randomly popped into a shop to browse. Very interesting experience and saw a lot of vintage stuff such as a wedding dress, vintage jewelleries, old cutleries and so on. I like vintage jewelleries because of their intrinsic designs yet I dare not buy. Firstly because of the price tag, secondly because of all the stories I heard about acquiring vintage stuff. After we finished browsing the shop, we continued our way back and got back slightly after 3pm. Still enough time for me to do some quick packing, to have some tea and eat some nuts before the couple sent me to the airport.

Left the house close to 3:30pm to the airport and the couple managed to squeeze in a short visit to the DFO before sending me to the airport terminal at 5pm. Said my goodbye to them and went into the terminal to do my check-in. After that, walked around to see if there was anything to buy and I ended up buying two packs of green lip abalones for my little big sis. Finally boarded the plane about 6+pm but the flight was delayed by one hour and only took off at 8pm. 

Thought: Yarra Valley was really nice. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of time to explore the place. Today I got to try buffalo meat and surprise, surprise, it tasted really good. Overall, my hosts were very nice and tried to accommodate me as much as possible to the extent that I felt real bad about it. The day trips out of Melbourne City were really great and it would have been even better if I get to stay at each place longer so that I have more time to explore. Will I visit Melbourne again? I might but I probably won’t stay in Melbourne City since I think I have explored the place rather extensively.

15 Nov 14 – Day 9 (Mornington Peninsular)

I was able to sleep in a bit later today because CT and SY didn’t need to work and because today was the day trip to Mornington Peninsular. It was planned last evening that we would leave the house about 8:30am so we agreed that we should have breakfast about 7am. I woke up about 6:30am and went out to the kitchen at 7am. The kitchen was empty so I hung around the dining table for a while contemplating if I should return to my room or I should try to prepare breakfast. While I was still considering my options, CT came out to prepare breakfast and was surprised to see me all dressed up. Anyway, she heated up the pita bread and brought out a lot of jams from the fridge while her husband helped to make coffee for everyone. She said since the weather was good, we should have breakfast outdoor. To make myself useful, I helped to carry the jams and coffee to the table outside. Sat down and waited for CT and SY to start breakfast. Chatted over breakfast, pin-pointed on the places to visit for the day and after we were done eating, we cleared the table and the couple retired into their room to dress up. I wore a flannel shirt over a short sleeve shirt and CT asked if those are warm enough for me. Told her that I wore a similar get-up the day before to St Kilda. She then asked if I needed a hat and I said no. Despite that, she still brought an extra hat and an extra scarf along, just in case.

We left the house around 8:30am and one hour later, we reached the first stop, The Diggers Club. It was a huge place with big garden that requires an entrance fee of A$10. The place also sells a lot of potted plants, seeds as well as gardening related items. After a brief discussion, we decided to just browse the retail section. I had a great time looking at the various potted plants and taking photos. We then move on to look at other parts of the place and stroll in the garden and had a lovely time there. It took us a while to cover most of the sections and then it dawned on us that we may have ventured into the garden that requires entrance fee. As we walk around, CT commented that whenever they visit the place, SY would always look at the various structures that the people at The Diggers Club setup around the garden and then would do a similar one back home for CT. I was thinking how loving they are after so many years of marriage so told CT she should treasure the thoughtfulness of her husband. We returned back to the retail section to browse the seeds. I didn’t want to leave empty-handed, hence bought a pack peppermint seeds. As for CT, she bought a couple of packets of vegetable seeds, a basket for one of her aunties and a potted plant.

We left the place close to 11am to hunt for lunch. We came close to a beach and CT suggested that we get down to a look around. We saw a few colourful windowless house-like structures along the beach and I took photos of them. CT also did the same and she commented that she doesn’t usually take photos during outings but seeing me taking photos, made her want to do the same. Took a short stroll on the sandy beach and she swiftly picked up a seashell for me. After that, we got back to the car and drove further on to look for a place to have lunch. After some discussion between CT and SY, it was decided that we would eat at the restaurant called “Two Buoys” over at Dromana where they had visited the last time.

Since it was a day with nice weather, we chose to sit outside of the restaurant. Asked for the menu and were given the breakfast menu. CT asked the waitress when lunch would start and was told it would only start around 12 noon. We couldn’t decide if we should go ahead to order from the breakfast menu or wait for the lunch hour to start, so we ended up ordering drinks first. Scanned through the menu again and CT suggested that we order a portion of churros to share while waiting for the lunch hour to start. When the waitress came to take order, CT asked if we would be able to order from the lunch menu slightly earlier and the waitress said shouldn’t be a problem. So while eating churros, CT and SY browsed through the menu again since I told them I am easy with food. CT was very thoughtful, she remembered that I wrote fresh oysters as one of the must-eat food item in my travel booklet and therefore suggested ordering half a dozen of fresh oysters as well as a portion of salt chilli squid, tequila, lime and coriander mayonnaise. It was a very good meal and again was paid by the couple. 

Our next stop was a quick visit to Montalto Vineyard & Olive Grove where I bought a bottle of Lemon Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil. CT also bought a bottle of the same olive oil and a bottle of wine. After she made the payment, she stayed on for a while to try another red before going off. SY didn’t taste any wine because he can’t drink according to CT. The next stop was to Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm but while on the way there, SY spotted the Ripe 'N' Ready Cherry Farm and we all agreed to go check it out. There were a few people in the farm house and we approached the owner to check the pricing. Entry fee to the farm cost A$10 per adult and the adult can eat as many cherries as he/she likes within the farm. And if he/she wants to pick and pack the cherries into boxes to take away, he/she would be charged accordingly by the weight of the cherries. CT and SY asked if I would like to pick cherries and this time I was the decisive one who said ok and that we would just eat as much as we like in the farm. It was a really wonderful decision to spend time in the farm. We spent about one hour in there and had a really great time just walking around, picking and eating cherries. The lovely weather was a plus point because we didn’t perspire much after all the activities. After we were all happy and full from eating the cherries, we moved on to the next destination, the Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm.

It was about 1:50pm when we reached Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm. CT and SY asked if I would like to pick strawberries and this time I said no. Firstly, there didn’t seem to be a lot of strawberries on the plants and secondly, it seemed to be drizzling slightly. So we just browsed the retail shop and CT recommended the Strawbellini Strawberry Moscato Sparkling, saying that it was an easy drink with very low alcohol content and that it received many awards in the past. She suggested that I have a taste of the drink which I did. Browsed the rest of the retail shop, grabbed a pack of Dark Chocolate Coated Freeze Dried Strawberries, a bottle of Strawberry Syrup and a bottle of Strawbellini Strawberry Moscato Sparkling. There was another section selling food made using strawberries. Saw many people sitting down on the benches eating nice looking pastries, snacks and ice cream made from strawberries, CT suggested that we have tea break there. We stood near the counter and browsed the menu, trying to decide which ice cream to choose. I saw people eating the Strawberry Temptation and told her that I would be getting that. After a while, CT said she will have the same to share with her husband. So I told her to look for seats while I placed the order. Made the payment and went to look for CT and SY with the number plate given. Chatted about how nice the weather was and what a great time we had, especially at the cherry farm. Then the ice cream came and we took our time to enjoy the food.

After we were done, it was close to 4pm and we quickly made our way to the last destination of the day, Main Ridge Dairy. It was a goat farm with a café and retail section selling cheese. We saw a few young goats resting under a tree, SY tried to use grass to lure them over but he didn’t succeed. Nevertheless, I managed to take photo of one young goat that was grazing near the fence. Then we went to the retail shop where CT bought a block of cheese. Then we made our way back for the day and along the way, we were thinking where to go for dinner.

I left CT and SY to decide. All of the sudden, SY stopped the car and said, there was a big cow just beside the car beyond the fence and asked if I would like to take a photo. Was amused but still took a couple of photos of the cow.  SY drove through east Melbourne and then randomly chose a restaurant called Short Black for dinner. Look through the menu and I ordered Ravioli alla Pancetta while CT had the salmon special and SY had the steak special. All the portions were very big yet the couple was able to finish their food and I had to struggle with mine and still could not finish.

Finally we got back to the couple’s place about 9pm, CT went to make tea, cut mangoes and sat down to chat and discuss about the plans for the next day. After some discussion, we finally returned to our rooms to rest for the day. As the next day was the day I fly back home, I did some major packing and I was glad that I brought along bubble wraps because I had a lot of glass jars and glass bottles of food to bring back home.

Thought: Enjoyed myself today because CT and SY can be really fun to be with. Although I didn’t get to see much of Mornington Peninsula but at least I get to visit some of the more famous shops in the area. Cherry picking was really fun and the cherries were really sweet. Overall, I was really glad that the weather was nice to have a good day out. If I get to visit Melbourne again, I hope to see more of Mornington Peninsula.